A big part of the show has often been a freshly-regenerated Doctor discovering their own outfit of clothes/costume...

Except. The ninth.

Its established that The Hurt Doctor wore his old leather jacket for a long time. So did Christopher's ninth Doctor.

I don't blame Nine if he just liked the coat (I did too...hence my username lol).

I just think it is a funny anomaly.

I don't think its the same jacket (Hurts looked tan coloured and very thick and worn whereas Eccleston's was less worn and black) and we just weren't there for the outfit change.

Very good point.

I miss The Ninth Doctor, his Northern accent and charming smile.

IIRC when we first saw the War Doctor some people thought his jacket was the same as the Ninth's but as it was a lot more battered he had acquired it after the Ninth Doctor wore it.

Rarely post on here, but this thread struck a chord with me because Capaldi's Doctor HASN'T settled on an outfit.

Having conspicuously moved away from the grumpy, constipated "buttoned up" look of the last series to a looser tee shirted rock star image, why revert to it now?

I've wondered this myself. Maybe it's because he's gone back in Clara's timeline, and this was before he decided to turn more "hobo-ish"?

I actually prefer the grumpy, constipated "buttoned up" look to the rock star image. I was thinking how elegant and dapper 12 looks when he puts some effort into his clothes. And it suited the tone of the episode perfectly for me. I really don't like that black jumper with what looks like stars on it.

I hope it's something like that. It's almost as if 'Face the Raven' happened somewhere between the end of last season and the Christmas special. Maybe it did, but it gets a bit too 'timey-wimey' for me to get my head round any continuity holes implied by that supposition.

I've got no problem with either the buttoned up look or the 'rock star' look, tbh: Both reflect aspects of this Doctor's character. I was just musing on the sudden reversion to that look, apparently out of nowhere.

It amuses me how younger viewers have a problem with the idea of a 50 something bloke dressing like that: they need to remember it was their Dads and Grandparents who actually INVENTED the rock and roll look in the first place!

I think Capaldi looks great in the velvet jacket, although I guess the looser, more informal gear is really a lot more practical when swanning around the place getting caught up in adventures where you're gonna get a bit dirty. Then, whenever was the Doctor a practical dresser? (wonder how many times Tom tripped over his scarf over the years!)

There might be a reason, but suspect it was more Peter wanting to mix things up...and of course the look and colour recalls Jon and Tom, the era when he was at his most 'fanboy-ish'. Glad he's keeping the look for Christmas. Of course, the rather Victorian look, then a bit hobo-ish, then a bit Pertwee/early Tom....have we got long frockcoats and a 'sporty' look to come? Let's hope we don't get to the multi-coloured phase...

He's wearing the horrible hoodie at the start of the episode so. It's only when they arrive at Rigsy's flat that he's shown wearing the [much nicer] velvet jacket.

The return of the buttoned up look has just happened to coincide with 12th Doctor merchendise releases (action figures, Lego etc) featuring the buttoned up look.

I have so many better ideas for Doctor costumes urghhhh!

Well you can't just say that unqualified! Let's hear 'em!

Slightly OT but one of my favourite moments from series 4 is when he re-meets Donna and she asks him if he always wears the same clothes.

Always makes me chuckle because we the viewer just accept this man wearing the exact same clothes day in day out for however long he is The Doctor (baring small changes like different colour suit etc) Only getting a change of clothes when he gets a change of face.

When you think about it it's absolutely peculiar.

Amy said much the same thing to 11 regarding the clothes he stole from the hospital, 2 years before.

Clara dies in Face the Raven though so it has to happen after the other episodes in series 9! It cant even be an earlier point in the Doctor's timeline, so this theory looks busted sorry!

From the Doctor's perspective, it could happen earlier. I think that was the point the OP was making?

ie - Doctor sees Clara at Christmas, goes off and next bumps into her when Rigsy calls (Clara has had several adventures with the future version of the Doctor at this point which the current Doctor knows nothing about) and Clara dies. Obviously, the finale would have to fit in somehow which it probably won't.

The Doctor, now with the knowledge of Clara's death, realises there is still a window of time during which he can adventure with Clara, and as sad as it is seeing his friend heading towards her own death, he seizes the chance for a few more adventures with her.

I don't think this is the way it's going, as it would mean the finale either has all sorts of time jumps in it, or it all takes place *before* some of the earlier adventures which would be problematic.

The Doctor in Face the Raven already has a room full of Ashildr Sightings so has been keeping track of her throughout the centuries.

So "The Girl Who Died" at least must be from earlier in the Doctor's Timeline probably "The Woman who Lived" as well.

So then we're talking about the Doctor's timeline going.

Last Christmas
The Girl Who Died
The Woman who Lived
Face the Raven
The Magician's Apprentice
The Witches Familiar
rest of series 9 eps.

which is a bit too mixed up.

Plus one of the clues that led to this theory was that the Doctor was dressed more like he was in Series 8 for "Face the Raven" and adopted the more scruffy look after Clara died. However the start of FtR had him dressed the same as most series 9 episodes.

Yeah, it doesn't make a great deal of sense.

Some great points on Twelves outfit not really being consistent. In fairness, after ditching the suspenders, Matt's outfit jumped around a bit too.

I think immediately after the suspenders were ditched Matt wore a long jacket that some pointed out were a bit too similar to the style worn by Nazis in WW2 - and it was dropped rightfully very quickly. I thought Matt looked great in a lot of the blacks and greys near the end of his run.

Do you mean, braces?

To be fair, from his perspective he hadn't even had time to change!

Both are rubbish so it doesn't really make any difference